On Wednesday 10 September, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke of the progress made and future projects to guarantee food security on the continent.
She announced the launch of a ‘Buy European Food’ promotional campaign and said that the EU could “proudly say that our European food is the best in the world”.
The President of the Commission confirmed that the Commission wanted to strengthen the role of farmers in the food chain. Ms von der Leyen promised increased monitoring of legislation against unfair commercial practices and corrective measures if necessary.
She specified that income support would be “ringfenced” in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), with the possibility of supplementing funding with national and regional envelopes. Finally, Ms von der Leyen defended the EU/Mercosur agreement, which includes “solid guarantees” and a compensation mechanism in the event of imbalances.
“Let’s start by abandoning the massive cuts planned by the Commission in farmers’ budgets and by guaranteeing them that they will not be Mercosur’s adjustment variable”, said François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, French).
Link to Ms von der Leyen’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/icl
Link to her letter of intent: https://aeur.eu/f/icn (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)